Arizona Capitol Times
Grassroots ‘Mormon Fall’ aided Lewis victory
by Evan Wyloge
Published: November 10th, 2011
...
Though Jerry Lewis was cautious about saying exactly how important the
Mormon church was to his campaign, the political newcomer’s upset win
over Senate President Russell Pearce largely relied on a quiet,
grassroots effort among Mesa’s faithful.
As the final results of the
Nov. 8 recall election became clear, Tyler Montague, an integral
campaign insider for Lewis, revealed how vital early support was among
members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Yes. I
can finally say it. From the beginning, we went to stake presidents and
bishops to get their support,” Montague said of high-ranking Mormon
members.
“I heard someone call it the ‘Mormon Fall,’ and I think
that totally fits,” he said, comparing the recall election to the mass
protests in North Africa and the Middle East known as the “Arab Spring.”
Their approach: Offer a simple choice to the most influential Mormons
in Mesa. We said, ‘Here’s what the Mormon Church says about immigration,
and here’s what Russell Pearce says about it. Where do you come down?’”
Montague said.
...Daryl M. Williams, a member of the Paradise
Valley Stake High Council and a trial attorney, said he could see the
way the Mormon community responded to the church’s stance, and that he
believes it played heavily in Lewis’ success.
“It was more than just a useful tool. It was a critical turning point in Mr. Lewis’ campaign,” Williams said.
Although Williams wasn’t officially part of the Lewis campaign, he said
he developed the view that Pearce was damaging for the church and that
he couldn’t back away from getting involved himself.
So Williams organized meetings where he tried to explain to everyday Mormon voters what the church’s stance meant.
“I held what’s called in the Mormon world a ‘fireside’ in Russell
Pearce’s district. There were a lot of Mormons there,” Williams said. “I
was not campaigning for Lewis, as much as I was campaigning for what is
right and moral.”
Williams said Lewis attended one of the meetings
where Williams spoke, and that Lewis took him aside afterward to express
his agreement and encourage Williams’ message.
Springing from those
initial conversations, the Lewis campaign felt it could build an
alliance with the influential members in Mesa’s Mormon community.
“It’s a small community and we knew we needed to target opinion-makers at a neighborhood level,” Montague said.
Lewis said he knew early on that getting the support from leaders in
the church and in the community more broadly would be a key to his
success. That would happen, Lewis said, by approaching those leaders
early in the campaign and on an individual basis.
This will be the last cometary I will make on Jerry Lewis
